If you were expecting some kind of sun sign nonsense, forget it. This is real astrology. See the section above. And if you need help deciphering the astrological glyphs in the graphics accompanying this article, see Astroglyphs: Astrological Symbols Guide. Please note: this forecast is expressed in terms of Universal Time (UT).
Tomorrow is our permanent address.
-- E.E. Cummings
 

May looks relatively quiet; a time for the world to catch its breath, so to speak. With no eclipses or SuperMoons on tap, only a normal level of extreme weather and dangerous seismic activity appears to be on the calendar for the month as a whole. (Don't be misled: there will be severe - even killer - storms and such now and then and here and there; just not a whole lot of really bad ones.) There's also a paucity of major planetary alignments this month, with only one or two worth mentioning: certainly the Mars-Uranus conjunction (squaring Venus) on the 15th, and arguably the Venus-Pluto opposition (squaring Mars) on the 29th. The former is a red flag that evokes the reckless, the dangerous, the daring and aggressive. The latter suggests sadness and longing, letting go because there's no other choice; also losses in the markets and danger to women. Last but not least are the two planetary stations that impact May. First and foremost is Neptune's retrograde station on the 19th, when this gas giant comes to a seeming standstill in the sky, and then reverses its normal course of apparent motion. Jupiter's direct station, ending the retrograde cycle that began February 2, follows on June 5. But both planets are within a degree of their station points for all (in the case of Neptune) or part (in the case of Jupiter) of May, and throughout June. The point is that these stations are almost glacial in their pace: you can see these trains coming a mile away.

Take that Jupiter direct station at 8° 56' Libra, for example. It's the first of its kind in this spot of the heavens since 1922. It was a time of breakthroughs in endocrinology (HGH discovered and insulin first isolated and used for treatment); strongman leaders coming into national power (Mussolini in Italy, Ataturk in Turkey); the birth of the Irish Free State; and energy production disruptions (a six-month coal strike in the US). The previous station at this point occurred in 1839, a time of breakthrough in energy technology (Grove invents hydrogen-electric battery) and a turning point in China's relations with the rest of the world (the Opium Wars). I suspect this year's Jupiter station - and the giant planet remains within a single degree of this point from May 10 through July 1 - signals advances in fuel cell, hydrogen and fusion technology. In view of the contemporaneous Neptune station (more on that shortly), a disruption in fossil fuel production also looks likely. The rest of the world ganging up on China in some way wouldn't surprise me, and I'd expect leadership issues in Ireland and Italy to keep making headlines during this period. Important advances in understanding and using stem cells, genetic engineering and hormones, and in the cause and cure of auto-immune disorders, are also likely. And last but hardly least, Jupiter is always significant in matters pertaining to law, the courts, and religions: all these things will be more than usually newsworthy.

Neptune's retrograde station at 17° 36' Aquarius on the 19th has been making its mark since late March, and will continue to do so until late July: the gas giant remains within a degree of its station point throughout this period. Previous Neptune stations in this degree occurred in 1515 and 1841. There's an interesting connection between 1841 and 1839 (mentioned above in light of the Jupiter station): 1839 was the year a shipload of Africans were hijacked and transported into slavery aboard the Amistad; while 1841 was the year the US Supreme Court ruled in the Amistad; case that Negroes are free. Likewise, the Opium Wars that began against China in 1839 resulted in that nation ceding Hong Kong to the British in 1841. Given the Venus-Pluto opposition later in the month, and the historic Neptune association with oil and gas, not to mention the Jupiter station, I can't help thinking May brings developments that change the oil price structure. We're conditioned to think of things like this in terms of oil price hikes. But what about a sudden drop? Don't say it couldn't happen . . . but don't expect it to last, either.

Going back to the Mars-Uranus conjunction on the 15th, this alignment remains in effect a few days before and after the exact aspect, and it's one to watch for. It signals hair trigger tempers, impulse getting the better of judgment, and a general air of danger all around. Nowadays that certainly suggests terrorist attacks, but it's more than that. It's also criminality and just plain nasty behavior. So get a grip, keep your guard up, and steer clear of trouble as best you can. Fires, accidents, explosions, fights and crashes: that's what you're trying to steer clear of at times like this.

Geopolitics and psychology aside, May might be lacking in major geocosmic storm signals, but that doesn't mean the whole month will be mellow on the seismic and meteorological fronts. Given the northward lunar equatorial crossing on the 5th, followed by the new moon on the 8th and the lunar north declination peak on the 12th, I figure we can look for higher than normal tides in the Earth's seas, crust and atmosphere all the way from late on the 3rd through the 13th. Strong storms and moderate to severe seismic events (including Richter 5+ quakes and volcanic eruptions) will make the news during this period. The US Great Plains, Alaska and the US-Canadian Pacific Northwest, central Mexico and the area from coastal Venezuela out to Puerto Rico are some of the likeliest targets this time around; along with Iceland, the British Isles, the eastern Mediterranean and eastern Iran, and from eastern China down through western Australia. These are only some of the hotter spots, but no place on Earth has a guarantee of being weatherproof and quakeproof with lunar alignments like this going on. Allow for weather delays if traveling, and have indoor alternatives if you're planning an outdoor event.

A brief return to more or less normal weather and seismic patterns should set in after the 13th, but the pace picks up again as the Moon crosses the celestial equator southward on the 19th. This merges immediately into the May 23 full moon effect; which in turn melds into the south lunar declination maximum on the 25th and the lunar perigee on the 26th. All in all, I expect the skies to crackle and the earth to pop at higher than normal levels from the 18th through the 27th. I'm not expecting planetary disaster, mind you. But this is a planet-wide effect and it will up the likelihood of strong storms with high winds and heavy precipitation; also moderate to severe earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The western US and eastern Caribbean look vulnerable during this interval. So does New Zealand (particularly the south island) and the eastern coast of Australia; along with Great Britain and much of Northern Europe, plus the western third of India. You should know the drill by now: have your foul weather gear and backup plans ready, allow extra time for travel, etc. And this applies even if you won't be in one of the specified zones during an at-risk cycle: no place on Earth is beyond the reach of Mother Nature, after all.

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